Dell, Microsoft, and VMware Announce Digital Transformation Collaboration
| Azure VMware Solutions, VMware Cloud Support
VMware and Microsoft Continue Collaboration for the Digital Workspace

Dell Technologies, Microsoft, and VMware announced on the 2nd at Dell Technologies World 2019 held in Las Vegas, USA, that they are expanding their partnership to accelerate customers' digital transformation.
This collaboration will enable customers to use officially supported VMware cloud infrastructure on Microsoft's cloud platform, Azure.

Customers who use VMware Workspace ONE with Microsoft Office 365 will also be able to manage Office 365 across multiple devices through cloud-based integration with Microsoft Intune and Azure Active Directory.

VMware will further expand the capabilities of Microsoft Windows Virtual Desktop by leveraging Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure.

“This collaboration will enable customers to take full advantage of the Microsoft Cloud using the technologies they already have,” said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. “Microsoft is focused on helping customers achieve their digital transformation.”

He added, “We will strive to discover new opportunities and meet evolving needs for customers who use Dell Technologies, VMware, and Microsoft through integrated cloud experiences and digital workspace solutions.”

“Dell Technologies and Microsoft are working together to simplify our customers’ overall IT environment,” said Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies. “Our goal is to provide our customers with the perspective they need for their future digital environment through a unified platform that spans edge, core and cloud.”

The cloud is the foundation that enables today's businesses to rapidly achieve their business goals. Through the cloud, businesses can enjoy numerous benefits, including scalability, security, productivity, and cost savings. This, in turn, allows them to leverage the potential of technologies like AI and IoT. Through this collaboration, Dell Technologies, Microsoft, and VMware plan to accelerate customer innovation with solutions that offer greater openness, flexibility, and scalability.

“Customers are excited about our expanded collaboration with Microsoft,” said Pat Gelsinger, CEO of VMware. “Through these innovative cloud and client offerings, VMware will provide greater value and greater flexibility to support customers on their journey to hybrid cloud, multi-cloud, and multi-device, and accelerate the digital transformation of their businesses.”


Azure VMware Solutions Deliver a Seamless VMware Experience in Azure
Azure VMware Solutions runs on the Azure environment, built on VMware Cloud Foundation, a platform that integrates software-defined compute, storage, networking, and management capabilities. Customers can experience the Azure environment while simultaneously leveraging VMware cloud infrastructure through Azure VMware Solutions.

Customers migrating existing VMware workloads from on-premises environments to Azure can seamlessly migrate and scale operations with Azure VMware Solutions without the need to redesign applications or restructure operations. As part of their hybrid cloud strategy, customers can design, run, manage, and secure all new and existing applications across VMware and Azure environments, extending a single operating model built on existing tools, capabilities, and processes. In the future, Azure VMware Solutions will support app migration, data center expansion, disaster recovery, business continuity, and modern application development.

Azure VMware Solutions also help enterprises leverage Azure's scale, security, and provisioning cycles to achieve performance improvements, innovation, and application modernization. Integration with native Azure services also makes it easier to apply intelligent capabilities like AI, machine learning, and IoT to applications.

Azure VMware Solutions is a first-party service developed by Microsoft in collaboration with VMware's certified cloud partner CloudSimple and Dell Technologies subsidiary Virtustream.


Advancing Your Enterprise's Digital Workspace Strategy
This collaboration allows customers using both Office 365 and Workspace ONE to maximize their investment in their digital workspace environment, regardless of device platform. Specifically, cloud-based integrations, including Intune and Azure AD, allow businesses to manage and secure Office 365 productivity across multiple devices through Workspace ONE.

Dell Technologies' new Unified Workspace offering accelerates customers' Windows 10 digital transformation journey with Microsoft Windows Autopilot and Dell ProDeploy's Device Provisioning and Deployment Services capabilities. These services are supported through integration with Microsoft Office 365, VMware Workspace ONE, and Dell Provisioning Services.

Meanwhile, Microsoft recently unveiled Windows Virtual Desktop, the only cloud-based virtual desktop service that delivers a multi-session Windows 10 experience, optimizes Office 365 ProPlus, and supports desktops and applications for Windows Server Remote Desktop Services (RDS).

As part of this collaboration, VMware will support enterprises' cloud journeys by extending Microsoft's Windows Virtual Desktop capabilities using VMware Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure. Initial features are expected to be released as a technology preview in late 2019.

VMware and Microsoft are exploring continued integration between VMware infrastructure and Azure services, including integration of VMware's network virtualization platform, NSX, with Azure Networking, and integration of VMware management solutions with specific Azure services. They also plan to expand Azure service support to VMware on-premises customers. This collaboration will enable customers to experience seamless, integrated cloud services across VMware and Azure environments.